


Honey In The Bushes, Water In The Well

by theherocomplex



Series: recursive reciprocity [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Cunnilingus, F/M, Face Sitting, I can't write porn without a plot, I managed to traumatize EDI and Tali in one fic, I think Garrus is going to come away from this with a whole new set of fetishes, Interspecies, Kink Meme, Mordin is brilliant and a bit creepy and completely unrepentant, Oral Sex, Porn, Shakarian - Freeform, so much porn, tongue-fucking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-07 18:36:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theherocomplex/pseuds/theherocomplex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Shepard's Cerberus <i>upgrades</i> give Garrus some self-esteem issues in bed, and Mordin has just the thing they need. </p><p>Also known as <i>that fic where I say what we're all thinking about turian tongues</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honey In The Bushes, Water In The Well

**Author's Note:**

> For [this prompt](http://masseffectkink.livejournal.com/6609.html?thread=28853713#t28853713) at the Mass Effect kink meme.

Garrus tried very hard not to look away, and failed.

“I’m sorry.”

Shepard made a huffing noise and nudged his thigh with her knee. “It’s fine, Garrus.” She was smiling, flushed pink and sweaty, but the invisible lines of stress -- the ones that he could feel -- were still there, set in the lines of her shoulders, the curve of her belly. “It’s hard for some women. Human women. And after everything this body has been through -- “ she slapped her leg “ -- I’m not surprised it’s even harder for me.”

“I don’t seem to have any trouble -- finishing,” he rumbled. The urge to turn his face into the pillow was very tempting.

Shepard huffed again and pushed herself off the bed. She stretched, which did amazing things to the fine lines of her bones under her skin, and he had to push down on a swell of need. “Maybe I’m just a glass-half-full kind of girl, but I take _that_ as a compliment.” She padded up the stairs and paused at the top.

“Are you staying tonight?”

The question made his ribs feel hot and tight, like it always did. No matter how many nights they spent together, she always asked. And he always said --

“Yes.”

She smiled. “Be right back,” she said, and walked into the bathroom.

Garrus stayed awake a long time, long after she finished her shower (even with the dual-chiralty condoms -- the ones he couldn’t believe he’d asked Mordin for -- they still had to be careful about fluids), long after she’d curled into his side and hooked a vulnerable foot around his knee, long after her breathing turned even and slow. He cupped one breast in his hand and she murmured, pressing into his touch, her nipple tightening against his palm.

After that, he had to shift position and angle his hips away until he got control of himself. The way her body responded to his, even that strange, sad first night, had made him hope that evolution and chemistry wouldn’t make sex impossible. Difficult he could deal with -- since when had anything been easy for Commander Shepard? -- but impossible might have been the final hairline crack in what was left of him.

It was difficult. Oh, and awkward, and embarrassing, and painful, and a whole list of other adjectives that tried to break his heart, even now. But when she had brought her legs up, so fast and strong, and whispered _It’s just us, Garrus, and I’ve got you, I’ve always got you_ into the air between them, he remembered that it was her, and it was beautiful.

He’d come, so fast he wanted to be embarrassed, but the soft _oh, oh_ that tumbled out of her as he thrust and then went still blanked out everything except her smell and her sounds.

It was enough to make a turian want to live, even after he’d long decided this was his last mission.

And then they’d lived, and won, and he had her whenever they could steal moments together. Some nights, they just talked and let their legs tangle in her cool sheets. Once, he woke to find her watching the way starlight broke on his face, tracing the edge of his bandage.

It was more than he’d ever thought he wanted, and when he was honest with himself, Garrus admitted that he was happy. Actually _happy._

He still couldn’t make her come.

It was stupid to keep obsessing, but even after her coaxing and advice and demonstrations (oh, Spirits, her _demonstrations_ ), he still couldn’t get her off. Shepard didn’t seem to care that even she couldn’t finish herself, and he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t say she didn’t care if she didn’t mean it. But he was Garrus Vakarian: failed C-Sec officer, failed vigilante (but only a failure there on account of _the goddamn rocket to the face_ ), failed turian -- he didn’t want to be a failed lover too.

 _I think it’s time to talk to Mordin,_ he thought.

Against him, Shepard shivered and moaned a little. The tension in her back tightened a fraction, and Garrus closed his eyes.

He held her close, and thought about second chances.

***

_Mordin,_

_Got any free time today? I have a question._

_G._

_Garrus,_

_Yes. Plenty of free time. Waiting for cultures to grow. Wanted to talk to you anyway. New developments. Might be relevant._

_Mordin Solus_

***

“Mordin.”

“Garrus. Good to see you. Hope sexual relationship with the Commander has been progressing satisfactorily.”

If there was a way to weaponize Mordin’s ability to obliterate a person’s equilibrium, the Reaper War would take all of fifteen minutes.

Garrus took a deep breath, counted to fifty, then took another deep breath. Perhaps the direct approach was best, considering that Mordin didn’t really understand anything else.

“That’s why I wanted to --”

“Yes. Anticipated this complication. Didn’t want to alarm either of you.”

“Oh.” Garrus shifted from one foot to the other and back again. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. Mordin blinked at him expectantly.

“Wait. Alarm us?”

“No cause for panic. Simply issues due to differing chemistry. Though must also place blame on cybernetic upgrades performed on the Commander by Cerberus. Did not prioritize sexual pleasure when reviving the Commander.”

Garrus made a mental note to take extra time to kill the next Cerberus officer who ended up in his sights. Knees first, then elbows. Then the stomach, and just before the bastard bled out --

Somewhere, back in the rational universe, Mordin was still talking.

“-- discovered what may be a way around it. Extensive research involved. Had to make use of Joker’s Fornax subscription.” Mordin’s face briefly contorted before smoothing into its usual placid lines. “But all efforts worthwhile. A possible solution presented itself.”

Garrus held his breath and waited for the meteor strike.

“Haven’t had time to fully explore side effects. May be complications.”

“Mordin.” The meteor hovered just outside the atmosphere. “Mordin, are you saying that there may be a way for me to --” _Spirits, let me say this in a way that doesn’t sound like the vids Kasumi watched_ “-- effectively please the Commander?”

_Thank you, Spirits. Because clinical and emotionless is so much better than melodramatic._

“Yes. Two-fold solution. Both chemical and practical. First, oral ingestion of chemical compound designed to negate effects of levo-aminos on dextro-based lifeform. Hope efforts are appreciated. Had to rely on unorthodox research methods to achieve desired results. Tali’Zorah has claimed she will never be able to make eye contact with any of us again.”

And there was the meteor, smashing into an unsuspecting city and killing millions. “You asked _Tali_ for help?” Mordin nodded and started to speak, but Garrus held up a hand. “No, please. I don’t ever want to know what this involved that you needed Tali’s help.” He made another mental note: a) stay away from Tali for a while, and b) buy her something very expensive.

“Right. So I ingest this solution. Then?”

Mordin smirked, and Garrus realized that perhaps the meteor hadn’t hit yet after all.

“Then: oral application.”

“Of what?” No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of any chemical that needed to be applied with his mouth. “Is there a compound for Shepard?”

“No. No. Nothing of the sort. Oral application to -- difficult to say with delicacy.”

“Not that you’ve ever worried about that before.”

“Quite correct.” Mordin hummed tunelessly, his eyes flicking over the lab. A moment later, he yelped and Garrus winced away.

“Of course! Will send you informational vids.” Mordin’s omni-tool flared to life, and within seconds, Garrus’ beeped as it received a new message. No -- several messages. He swallowed.

“Thanks, Mordin. I think?”

“Very welcome. Now, the compound.” From some hidden pocket, Mordin produced a small glass vial, with three gray-green pills rattling around inside. “First test run, only small batch needed. Take one approximately thirty minutes before initiating coitus with the Commander. Should allow enough time for negating agents to take effect.”

Garrus tried not to look too eager as he took the pill bottle from Mordin. He felt ridiculous -- there had to be another way, a better way, a way that didn’t involve unknown chemicals and traumatizing Tali and Mordin’s smirks. He just had to find it.

The memory of Shepard shivering in her sleep came to the surface. She was still too thin, she still held herself too stiffly. If she ate once a day or slept for more than four hours at a time, he counted it a victory. He wanted to see her rest. She had led them into hell and back out the other side. Now the galaxy expected her to do it again.

Sex was a small thing in a life like that. Garrus understood better than most. Sex was sweaty and complicated and overrated.

This wasn’t sex. This was -- and how appropriate that he would understand now, with a pill bottle in his hand and a too-invested salarian doctor beaming at him -- this was _love_. Love was sly and quiet, and it was the sound of her shifting in her sleep and him wanting to end her nightmares. She trusted his talons on her skin. She trusted him to have her six.

No Vakarian without Shepard.

Sex was small, but love -- love was _huge_. And this need to please her was more than just a point of pride. He wanted to see her, loose and relaxed in his arms, all the resistance pulled out of her muscles. Maybe then she’d sleep through the night.

“Thirty minutes, Mordin?” He closed his fist around the bottle as Mordin nodded. “Right. Thanks for the vids.”

Time to find out what _oral application_ meant.

***

“Vakarian! Giving the calibrations a break today?”

He waved away Donnelly’s jibe and tried not to let his subvocals drop into the vulgar ranges. Not that Donnelly would notice, but if Primarch Victus overheard --

Still, when had the entire galaxy decided to start riding him about calibrations?

Garrus slipped back inside the main battery and kept his back to the door while the door sealed shut. He wanted to punch in a security hack to keep anyone from coming in, but EDI would notice and investigate. The risk of Joker finding out what he was about to do wasn’t one he wanted to take.

The door would stay unhacked, and he’d just pray that no one decided to come looking for him. Especially not Shepard.

His cot smelled stale and unused; it had been nearly a week since he’d slept in it. It was too narrow to share, and even if it wasn’t, Shepard wouldn’t allow the crew to see her creeping in and out of the main battery. Their relationship was no secret, but neither of them saw a reason to flaunt it.

Finding the right position took a few moments. The Alliance didn’t make beds with turians and their anatomy in mind, so he had to fold a pillow in half to support his fringe and and another two to prop up his cowl. Lying on his back was the best position for watching vids, but he couldn’t stay there indefinitely. He hoped the vids were short.

The first one was already queued. It took an effort, but he ignored his doubt and pressed play.

At first, it looked exactly like the vids he’d watched during his “research” before his first night with Shepard. Two humans, both blonde and (he couldn't repress a very turian shudder) _tanned_ and barely dressed, kissed languidly on a bed in a dark room. The male’s erection was already straining his shorts.

 _At least Mordin cut right to the chase._ Garrus shifted a few inches lower and sighed.

The male left off kissing the female’s mouth to kiss a trail down her neck, between her breasts, and over her belly. Her moans were too loud, even over the soundtrack, but Garrus remembered how Shepard always gasped when he licked the cut of her hip, and the plates at his groin shifted when the male in the vid did the same. At least he had that much right.

“Please,” said the female. Her moans were breathier now. “Oh God, yes, please.”

The male smirked at her and ran a finger teasingly just under the band of her underclothes. _Panties_ , Garrus reminded himself. _Shepard said they’re called panties._ The female moaned and arched her back.

“Please,” she begged, and the need in her voice was clear enough to cut through any interspecies differences. Garrus slid a hand under his trousers and pressed lightly against his groin plates.

The male laughed, rich and low, and pulled the female’s panties down over her hips. He took his time, laughing as she writhed and whispered to him, before letting her get fistfuls of his hair and pulling him back up for a kiss. The female was shaved bare, not trimmed neatly like Shepard, but Garrus saw the wet gleam between her legs and wondered: would Shepard let him see her like that, bare and vulnerable and wet?

He groaned and pressed harder. His cock, half-hard already, slid from between its plates when he thought about slipping a finger between Shepard’s legs, into her silken muscle --

The male broke the kiss and moved down the female’s body, stopping to circle his thumbs over her nipples before laving them with his tongue. Her moans were almost cries. She tried to lift her hips to him, begging for _more, more, more_. The male laughed again, his breathing heavy, and he rested between her legs, pushing her thighs wide as he held her hips down.

He flicked his tongue between her legs, a quick flash of pink, and the female cried out in a tight voice. She strained against his hands and he forced her down, leaning forward to press a kiss --

Garrus stopped breathing.

_Oral application._

His cock throbbed, already slick with lubricant, and without being fully aware of what he was doing, he fisted his hand around it and stroked once, tight enough to hurt.

_Of course._

The male’s tongue was hard at work, and the camera obligingly zoomed in. Garrus could see everything: the place where her thigh met her ass, the fluid slicking the male’s lips, the tiny pink nub over the female’s cunt. She was screaming now, nothing fake about it, her hands tearing at the sheets and the male’s hair.

The male pressed two fingers into her, still working his tongue over the little bundle of flesh. Garrus groaned and twisted his hand at the base of his cock, where the flesh was swollen and dark blue with blood. The shock of pleasure went straight up his spine to explode, white-hot, in his brain.

Moaning against the female’s thigh, the male pulled back and licked his lips. She shuddered, her whole body on the edge of a spasm, and watched him with pleading eyes.

“Don’t -- don’t stop, oh fuck, _please_ , I’m so close, don’t stop -- _oh God_!”

The male spread her wide and pressed his tongue into her cunt, his thumb kneading her -- _clitoris_ , Garrus remembered as stars burst against his eyelids, it’s a _clitoris_. The female arched, her body one taut line as a single high shriek ripped out of her. Then she shattered, falling back to the bed, panting hoarsely and laughing.

“God, you’re fantastic,” she murmured, and reached out to the male. He kissed her hand and bent down to swirl his tongue over her clitoris again. She shuddered.

“Not done yet,” he whispered against her.

Garrus pulled his hand away from his cock and shut off the vid. He felt flayed open, like an exposed nerve. The last rational part of him was amazed that he had almost gotten off watching two humans, but the rest of him was thinking _Shepard, oh Spirits, if only I could_ \--

_Negating agents._

Mordin was a genius.

***

By some strength of will he hadn’t known he possessed, Garrus kept himself from getting off until he went to Shepard’s that night. Working on the cannons with his cock straining at its plates wasn’t the most unpleasant experience of his life (that honor still belonged to _the goddamn rocket to the face_ ), but it was close. The temptation to rub himself against his workbench was intolerable, and he gave up after an hour to head down to the shuttle bay. Vega wouldn’t spar with him after what happened the last time -- though, to be fair, Garrus had warned Vega about his ranking as a top hand-to-hand specialist -- and Cortez only watched him with awe since the Kalros incident -- but running laps through the makeshift obstacle course helped distract him until it was time to shower and message Shepard.

_Shepard,_

_Free tonight?_

_G._

_G.,_

_I am -- early morning interview with Allers, though. Just to warn you in case you want to avoid getting trapped. Come up in about twenty minutes? Should give you enough time to finish calibrating._

_S._

 

“Okay, really, is this a conspiracy?” Garrus grumbled, but his mandibles lifted in what a human would have called a smile. He dug in his pocket for the bottle and held a pill up to the light.

“Here goes,” he said, and swallowed it down.

***

Garrus’ plans were almost derailed when he got to Shepard’s cabin and found her asleep at her desk, half out of her armor and slumped over a datapad. An unopened ration pack was tossed to one side, close to her hand -- like she’d been about to open it when she couldn’t stay awake any longer.

Waking her up, even for his generous purposes, seemed heartless. Side effects could go to hell -- he had two more pills, and Mordin could always make more. If Shepard was this exhausted, he’d move her to the bed and let her sleep.

 _Yes, I will_ , he told his cock as it twitched against its plates.

He lifted her far too easily; every point of bone stood out against her skin now, and the surge of arousal he felt was a guilty one. The turian in him loved the sharp angles and wanted to trace every one of them with his tongue; the lover and friend wanted to hide her away until she looked like herself again.

He knew he didn’t look much better, not if the way Shepard watched him was any sign. The war was making ghosts of them all.

Shepard didn’t stir or protest as he carried her across the room, not until he tried to lay her down on the bed. Then she came awake, all at once, scrabbling for a gun that wasn’t there. Her eyes were dark and unfocused.

“Garrus -- what --”

“You fell asleep at your desk,” he said, letting his subvocals drop into a comforting register. She relaxed a fraction and fell back against her pillows with a groan.

“Dammit, I’m sorry, Garrus, I didn’t mean to drop off like that.” His mandibles tightened at the guilt in her voice. Both of them knew they had limited time together, and neither of them liked to waste it. But if she was tired enough to drop off still in her armor, he wasn’t going to grudge her the sleep.

He straddled her and started to unclasp her armor. “It’s fine,” he rumbled as he pulled her chestplate away. She tried to follow his hands with her own, but her fingers were still sleep-clumsy and she let him brush her hands away without much protest. By the time he had her stripped down to her underwear, she was blinking up at him, a half-smile on her face.

“Well, well, Vakarian, I didn’t know you’d be so eager tonight.” She wriggled her hips under him and glanced up through her lashes. “I heard you went pretty hard in the obstacle course today.”

“Is there anything on this ship you don’t know about?” He leaned down to nuzzle at the curve of her shoulder, where her skin was warm from sleep.

“I don’t know what you talked to Mordin about after you left this morning.” She grinned up at him. “I asked EDI, but she wouldn’t tell me. Should I be jealous?”

Garrus forced a laugh. “Ah, no. Mordin did his best, but his seduction techniques left something to be desired. Literally. Guess you’re stuck with me, Shepard.”

“I’ll make do.” Shepard plucked at his tunic before meeting his eyes. “You look tired,” she said gently. “Want to go to sleep?”

“Mmm.” He bent down to nip at her collarbone and soothed the reddened skin with his tongue. “As you humans say, I’ll sleep when I’m dead. Tonight --” he slid down and gusted a breath over her breastbone. “Tonight, I have ideas.”

“Ideas?” Her voice hitched a little as the tip of his tongue followed his breath. “Should I be scared?”

He unhooked the clasp of her bra and pulled it off her shoulders. Her nipples were already peaked, a dusky pink only a few shades darker than her skin, and under his tongue, the undersides of her breasts felt like silk. Her breasts had bewildered him at first -- what if he cut her? -- and while logic said he shouldn’t be aroused by them, her reactions to his hands and mouth on them had quickly become things he craved.

Garrus looked up at her, her hips cradled in his hands, and he loved her more than his life.

“Trust me,” he said.

Shepard ran her thumb along the line of his mandible. “Always,” she said, without a pause.

***

Garrus slid off the bed and stood at its foot.

“Slide down,” he said. Shepard moved until her feet hung off the edge and looked at him, the half-smile still ghosting around the edges of her mouth.

“Does that work for -- oh!”

She jumped when he gripped her around the calves and pulled her toward him until her hips were at the edge of the mattress, her legs spread on either side of him.

“Garrus?”

She was puzzled now, her body tense.

“Just -- stay still,” he whispered. He was so hard already, a single touch would ruin him. She nodded, a frown line nicking between her brows, but her legs relaxed under his hands as he stroked behind her knees.

“That would feel a lot better if you took off those gloves.”

“You’re probably right.” He’d forgotten he was wearing them. After stripping them off, he ran his talons, light as air, over the skin on the back of her thighs.

She jumped again, a whine in the back of her throat.

“God, you could cut me open with those things, but you never do, you’re so careful...”

He loved her like this, all rambling sentences and husky consonants. Turians weren’t big on talking in bed, but humans were endlessly inventive in that regard, if Shepard was any indication. She wasn’t vulgar or loud, but he could listen to her half-whisper for hours.

“What if I wasn’t careful?” he asked, his mouth scant centimeters away from her skin. She shivered. “What if my control slipped, for just one moment...” He rested the tip of one talon between her breasts, gentle as light, and drew it down, over the concave curve of her belly, leaving a faint red line in its wake. Shepard tensed fractionally, her eyes closing, but Garrus had to hide a smile. _This_ was the good tension.

“Do you ever think about that, when I’m not around? What would happen if I pressed too hard?” He pricked the skin just above the black band of her panties, and because he didn’t know if he would ever get the chance again, licked away a drop of blood. Rich salt-rust exploded on his tongue. “Do you ever wonder just how much I’m holding back?”

“Jesus Christ, Garrus.” She sounded stunned, but when he looked up, she was pinching her nipples and her cheeks were flushed. “Your voice -- your _mouth_.”

He couldn’t have asked for a better entrance. With a groan as his groin plates shifted, he half-stood and leaned over her. Even without his visor, he could tell her pulse was racing. She was getting rougher with her nipples, twisting them into hard reddened peaks, and when he pulled her hands away she whined high in the back of her throat.

“You don’t get to touch yourself tonight,” he breathed in her ear. She writhed under him. “Your hands need to stay right where I put them. Understand?”

She nodded. The flush crept down her neck and over her chest, and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her face. He’d never felt her this warm before, radiating like a miniature sun.

Garrus was obviously doing something very, very right.

As gently as he could, he pressed her hands down at her sides, tracing the veins on the inside of her wrists with a talon to make her squirm. “Right where I put them. Yes?”

“Yes,” she moaned, a sound that turned into a sigh when he hooked his fingers through the band of her panties and pulled them off. She tried to close her legs on reflex but he spread them wide and held her thighs open. The smell of her arousal -- warm and bland, almost sweet -- filled his lungs. She was already wet enough to take him, and he had to fight the urge to undo his trousers just enough to free his cock. Shepard loved being fucked while she was naked and he was clothed, with the seams and fasteners on his clothes pinching and biting at her skin, but that was for another night. He wanted to make this last, and if he gave into temptation, it would be over in seconds.

Instead, Garrus just looked at her. For one frozen moment, he didn’t know what to do, and he thought he might stay paralyzed there forever, tracing circles on her hips with his thumbs. And then he remembered --

_A kiss._

He leaned down, breathed her in, and let his tongue flicker over her clitoris.

“Oh Jesus, Garrus, you can’t --”

“Yes, I can,” he murmured against her. “Just stay still.”

“But --”

If he let her argue, he would lose his nerve completely. Garrus had no idea how much time he had, but he wasn’t going to waste any of it. Instead of using his tongue to answer her, he ran the flat of it over her clitoris, moaning when she jerked and shuddered. When he pressed his tongue into her, she made a noise like a sob and bucked her hips against his hands.

She tasted sweet, like summer wheat, and he would drink her in until she was inside him, not the other way around, and then she’d be safe, safe and warm --

He came back to himself with a jolt. Shepard was crying out, one long open cry with his name buried inside it, and her hands were _everywhere_ , on his fringe, her own body, tangled in the sheets. The muscles in her thighs strained against his face as she tried to get closer.

”Jesus God _fuck_ , get your clothes off and fuck me already, Garrus.” She managed to grab hold of the sleeve of his tunic and he heard, distantly, the sound of fabric ripping. “Need you inside me, need your cock --”

“Not yet,” he said, his voice taut and broken by a constant flanging rumble any turian would recognize as pure desire. She screamed when he pushed the tip of his tongue inside her, and Spirits, the heat pouring off her was incredible.

He pulled away from her and stood. Shepard moaned, reaching out for him, begging _please_ and _need you_ , and when he pulled her into a sitting position she made a noise like she was dying. Her hands cupped his face and drew him down, her mouth opening over his, all pliant warm flesh, and her tongue followed, darting into the corners of his mouth to lick him clean.

“That was incredible,” she panted. The taste of her tongue and the taste of her cunt mingled in his mouth, and his cock was so hard it ached as it strained at his trousers. “I want you so badly.”

“You have me,” he panted back, pulling his shirt over his head while she undid his trousers. “But -- not yet. Wait, Shepard, _wait_ , dammit.”

He caught her hands just before they reached his cock. One touch from her would undo everything, and he had a new idea, one he wanted to try so badly he thought it would kill him. He was almost there, she was so close --

“You want me inside you, right?”

“Oh God yes.” She nipped at the tip of a mandible with her wicked little teeth.

“All right then.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her over him, leaning back against her pillows. She fell into his arms easily, her skin sweat-slick and rosy under his hands, and she was shaking, like she’d fly apart if his hands and mouth didn’t ground her.

It took a moment to arrange his head so his fringe wasn’t bent painfully, then he pulled on her hips until her cunt was just over his mouth. Garrus couldn’t smell anything but her, and when he looked up, the proud curves of her breasts and the swell of her hips were all he could see, her face framed above him and haloed by stars.

“Garrus?”

He pulled her down, hands gentle on her hips, and heard her moan turn into a cry when his clever tongue brushed down over her clitoris and then up, into the sweet warmth of her cunt.

If someone had told him that there was a part of his body more sensitive than his cock, Garrus would have laughed until he couldn’t breathe. Now, he knew better. His tongue, thin enough to enter her without any resistance, long enough to follow the inner angles of her body -- _that_ was the most sensitive part of his body. One of them was groaning, an endless winding noise that vibrated through his chest and up into her body.

He thought he might need to hold Shepard still, but she wasn’t even moving. Garrus could feel how tense she was, like a string on the edge of snapping, as his hands slid over her sweaty skin. She wanted to snap, she needed to snap --

He thrust his tongue up, hard, mandibles flaring wide to let him go deeper, and Shepard shrieked. She thrust down onto his face, her shriek breaking into breathy little screams as her clitoris slid over the ridges on his nose.

That ended any trepidation he might have had. He pulled her down and held her, fucking her on his tongue while she squealed and tried to squirm away. His twin larynxes hummed and he knew the vibrations were traveling straight out of his throat, up his tongue, and into her, by the way she stiffened and arched her back. She was saying something, words he dismissed as nonsense until he heard his name.

“Garrus, more, it’s -- I’m close, please, just more...”

The moan he made was more of a howl when he heard that.

He thrust into her again, and his tongue brushed against a new texture, deep inside her. Shepard’s hips jerked, her muscles fluttering tight against him for a heartbeat, and he followed instinct. On the next thrust, he ground his face into her cunt, pressure just where she needed it, and swirled the tip of his tongue against that spot inside her.

Shepard said, “Oh”, so quietly Garrus almost missed it, and shattered.

His tongue was still fucking her, deep as he could reach, and the first clench of her muscles around his took him completely by surprise. She’d always been tight, but he’d attributed that to certain interspecies size differences, and never once thought she could get tighter.

Being proven wrong, for once, was delicious.

Her orgasm was over too quickly. Garrus teased that spot inside her, coaxing out more tremors as long as he could, but in less than a minute she slumped over him, her hair a sweaty mess in her eyes.

“Where,” she gasped, “did you learn how to do that?”

Reluctantly, he withdrew from her and eased her up so he could talk. Every inch of Shepard’s skin -- at least what he could see -- was bright pink and glowing like a white star. His cock twitched painfully, begging for attention, but the flush of success had given him more ideas. He’d never had her so pliant before, and he wanted to push her farther, pull more of those shudders out of her. He could wait.

“I’m just naturally gifted,” he said, with the smuggest smile he could summon. She laughed breathlessly and bent herself nearly in half -- Spirits bless her flexibility -- to touch her forehead to his.

“I’ll say. Now I just have to figure out a way to pay you back.” She wriggled out of his hands and slid backwards over his body. He stopped her before she could slip down over his cock.

“No.”

Her eyes met his, pupils blown wide, and she raised an eyebrow in question.

“Well, not _yet_ ,” Garrus amended. He wasn’t made of stone. “But I want to play with you more.”

On any other night, Shepard would have been fast enough to wriggle away from him before he caught her, but her movements were slow, almost drugged, and he pulled her back up easily. She sucked in a breath.

“Garrus, I don’t think I can -- you know, again.” She blushed, cutting her eyes away from his almost shyly.

“Don’t forget who you’re dealing with, Shepard,” he said with a laugh rumbling through his words. “I managed to get three merc companies pissed enough to collaborate. I love challenges.”

She started to laugh. It was a good, bright sound he’d never heard before, and it was over too fast. He made one last mental note to see if he could make her laugh like that again, and soon, and then buried his tongue in her again.

Her breathing turned into hitched gasps as soon as he entered her, and he went slowly, memorizing the differences in her body from just moments ago. The muscles around his tongue twitched and clenched with every movement he made, over-stimulated and almost too sensitive. She didn’t tell him to stop, so he probed gently, circling the pad of his thumb over her clitoris.

Garrus was careful not to spend too much time on one spot; instead he kept his movements light and varied, only giving in to her pleas for more pressure when she started grinding against him. Then, with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs, he shoved his tongue into her until his jaw ached, hitting that spot again and again.

Shepard went silent again, and when Garrus caught the tender skin on the inside of one flushed thigh with his teeth, she broke apart without moving, her body clenching around him vice-tight, each spasm longer than the last.

That was the moment his control broke completely. He pulled out of her while she was still shaking and rolled her onto her belly. He wasn’t much more than pulsing need, but he remembered to lift her hips up before he slammed into her from behind.

Her breath gusted out of her into the sheets. Garrus didn’t give her time to recover -- she was too wet, and still clenching exquisitely around him. He took a moment to spread her legs wider and buried himself to the root, the ridges of his cock disappearing into her slick cunt without resistance.

Conscious thought quickly became impossible. She was so wet that each thrust sounded obscene, too loud in a room where the only other sound was his constant growl. He had enough presence of mind left to reach around her hips and trace her clitoris with the tip of one finger, but he was honest enough to know it was selfish. He wanted to feel her clench down on his cock, tight enough to keep him buried inside her while he came. He wanted his come locked in her, as long as he could keep it there, until she smelled like him inside and out.

 _Not good_ , he told himself, _but I don’t care._

She came again a moment later, like she’d sensed his thoughts, and it was harder than the other orgasms. Like she was coming in self-defense, he thought, and almost laughed.

“Garrus,” Shepard mumbled. She didn’t sound like she knew that she was talking. “Garrus, I may regret it later, but just do it. Just -- come inside me. Want to feel it in me, dripping out of --”

Everything whited out for a moment. His nervous system felt like it had been drenched in fuel oil and then set on fire. His orgasm was sharp, almost painful, and there was so much -- he could already feel it slipping out of her, mingled with her own fluids. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, trying to string out his orgasm as long as he could. Somewhere, far away, Shepard sighed with what sounded like pure contentment.

He came down by degrees, feeling coming back into his legs first, then his arms, then the rest of him. His mouth ached, and his spurs were jammed uncomfortably into his thighs, but he stayed where he was until Shepard shifted away from him, murmuring about needing to lay down. Then he pulled out, his cock giving one last valiant twitch when he saw his come on the back of her thighs.

One of these days, Shepard was going to let him wear his visor when they did this, and then he wouldn’t have to trust his memory. Not that he was ever going to forget what she looked like at that moment, slumped bonelessly into the mattress.

He laid down next to her on his side and curled an arm around her shoulders to draw her close. Her eyes were already closed, but he knew her body well enough to know she was still awake.

“Garrus?”

“Mmm?”

“I’m about to get the best sleep I’ve had in years, but I fully plan on thanking you tomorrow.”

“Mmm.”

“And don’t think I won’t figure out what the hell just happened.”

“Mmm.”

“I mean it.”

“Go to sleep, Shepard.”

***

Diana Allers checked the time. As far as she knew, Commander Shepard was genetically incapable of being late, but it was 0830 and their appointment had been for 0745. She’d tried pinging the Commander’s quarters, but never gotten an answer.

She was halfway to the elevator when EDI appeared, silently, in front of her.

“Oh, EDI! I was just --”

“The Commander sends her regrets, but she is currently indisposed. She found herself unable to get out of bed this morning.”

“Is she sick?” _I swear to God, if someone brought scale itch on board and the crew blames me, I will set their quarters on fire._

“She is indisposed,” EDI replied. “She sends her apologies.”

“I got that,” snapped Diana, then winced when EDI regarded her silently. “Sorry, just stressed.”

“I would be happy to serve as a replacement interview subject until the Commander is available. I am eager to display my new humor subroutines.”

Diana nodded. _Well, what could possibly go wrong?_

Oh, Diana.

***

“Doctor Solus, it seems that your suggestion to replace the Commander as an interview subject was not carefully considered for all variables.”

Mordin hummed. His new cultures were finally ready. He wished EDI would leave so he could get to work.

“Was not completely serious. Didn’t know you’d take me at my word. Only wanted you to delay until the Commander woke.”

“That brings me to another point, Doctor Solus. I would like to request that you do not ask me to observe the Commander in such an -- intimate -- setting again.”

“Of course. Only needed you this once to make sure compound was successful.”

“As you predicted, the negating agents within the compound neutralized the effects of both levo and dextro proteins, even through physical contact and not ingestion, in the case of the Commander. It also appears that no adverse side effects have occurred.”

“Excellent. Am curious to know if Shepard will investigate reciprocal gestures.”

“You will have to surmise from their post-coital visual and olfactory reactions,” said EDI, almost tartly. “This platform is returning to the bridge. I congratulate you on a successful experiment, Doctor Solus.”

“Of course it worked,” said Mordin to his cultures. “Created by me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong.”

**Author's Note:**

> My first Mass Effect fic! My first Shakarian fic! My first fill for the kink meme! Whew! 
> 
> Thank you for reading -- let me know if you liked it!


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